(YoungBiz)
- Log on to www.leftysauto.com, and you'll automatically feel
a need to fasten your seatbelt. A car revs its engine and a pair of
headlights moves toward you as Lefty's high-performance slogan
appears: "Welcome to Lefty's Auto, where it's your
parts at my cost."

Eighteen-year-old Mike Wilson of Overland Park, Kansas, founded
Lefty's Auto two years ago with a simple purpose in mind: to
provide performance parts at reasonable prices for do-it-yourself
car buffs like himself. Wilson had just acquired a 1987 black
Corvette that "needed some work." He was shocked at the
prices auto supply stores were selling parts for and decided to
look for an alternative.

"My parents offered to help me start my own auto parts
business as long as it didn't interfere with my studies and
after-school activities," Wilson said. He made contacts with
parts wholesalers, the companies that sell parts to auto supply
stores, and signed agreements with a few that didn't require
him to pay a fee to work with them and were willing to educate him
on their product lines. The next item on his list was to get a
plan.

The Business
Plan
Wilson's interests, besides cars, are in business management,
so he did some research and wrote both a mission statement and a
business plan for Lefty's Auto. The business plan defined
responsibilities for both a financial manager and a sales staff. He
took on the financial tasks and some of the selling and hired a
friend as a sales rep. That friend soon taught Wilson a valuable
lesson.

"He copied my business plan and started his own competing
company," says Wilson. What did he learn from this, besides to
keep his business plan locked up? "Lefty's Auto is my
company, and I need to control the operations," he says. His
employees are now commission-only sales reps who work under a
simple written contract. The more orders they bring in, the more
money they can make.

Mike's sales reps must also know and follow his company
philosophy: The customer comes first. If there is a problem with an
order, "I am the one responsible for telling the customer
why," he says. This doesn't mean that the customers run
his life. Wilson's success has occasionally forced him to
modify his business plan. "My first priority is school,"
he points out, "so during the school year I limit my company
activities so I have time for studies and sports." He shares
this information with his customers so they'll understand why
he's not as readily available for questions during the school
year.

A Team Effort
Advertising for Lefty's Auto is the responsibility of the
entire company. Wilson runs ads in the school newspaper, and he and
his sales staff pass out window stickers and brochures at school
and at a local racetrack. The best ad is Wilson's 1987 black
Corvette, now restored with parts from Lefty's Auto and turning
heads at the racetrack.

When the orders become more than he can handle during the school
year, Wilson immediately cuts back on these activities. That
approach to business discipline keeps his customer service, his
grades and even his entire body at a high level. Besides
maintaining a GPA of 3.8 to 4.0, he takes extra business courses at
a nearby junior college and is a four-year-letterman on the track
team as a pole-vaulter.

Wilson pays his sales reps up to 20 percent commission on parts
orders after paying his suppliers and taking a small profit. So his
slogan, "Your parts at my cost," really means that he
sells his products at his cost plus a small 20 percent markup.
"Most auto supply stores have a 100 to 200 percent
markup," he says. "My parts are very affordable in
comparison."

Planning
Ahead
In the fall, Mike will enter the University of Kansas as a junior
because of all the college courses he's already taken. He plans
to major in business administration and possibly go on to study
corporate law. After that, the business plan for Lefty's Auto
will probably undergo another change. "I will have to hire a
business manager responsible for some of the day-to-day
operations," he said. Those responsibilities will be
well-defined in his organizational structure so the quality service
Lefty's is known for continues.

One last question: How did he get the nickname Lefty? "To
be honest, I don't remember," he said. "I'm not
left-handed or even left-wing." With the success of
Lefty's Auto and his dedication to customer service, education
and entrepreneurship, it won't stand for "left out"
either.